Bob Duemmel talks with Greg Gould of the New York State Task Force 2. Gould is a handler for one of the team's four search K9s.
His dog, Kura, is a nine year-old Yellow Lab who was received from an animal rescue and was trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
The two discuss the role of search dogs in USAR and SUSAR operations, including the search of collapse and other rescue environments. The dogs receive training in specialty roles, such as live victims or cadavers.
Gould shares how the dogs are continually trained and the need for "fun" training to keep the dog's interest levels up. He also talks about the impact on rescue operations on the dogs and how their mental well being has to be watched over.
- See Bob Live! Bob Duemmel will be hosting a live recording of "The Buzz on Technical Rescue" at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore, July 19 - 23. He will also be presenting "How to Contribute to Firehouse: At Conference, In Print and Online" and "Retention in the Voluneer Fire Department: Bringing Young and Old Together."
About the Author
Bob Duemmel
Bob Duemmel was the technical rescue editor for Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com. A deputy coordinator for Special Operations in Monroe County, NY he recently retired as a captain with the City of Rochester Fire Department. Bob's involvement in technical rescue is very diverse. He is the Plans Manager for New York Task Force-2 USAR Team, a member of the Western New York Incident Management Team and a member of the New York State Technical Rescue curriculum development team. He is a nationally certified instructor with a focus on technical rescue programs. He has delivered training to fire service, industrial, military and international rescue teams and has assisted with exercise evaluation for the United Kingdom and the European Union's USAR program. Bob has also participated in numerous USAR exercised as both a participant and evaluator. He hosted “The Buzz on Technical Rescue” podcast.